Wednesday, 30 July 2014

Published by Jimmy Simond on Wednesday, 30 July 2014 |&nbspNo comments

24th of July, 2014, Thursday
witnessed yet another Google update and this time they call it the Pigeon
update. According to SEO sources, this update is especially affecting the local
search algorithm. This Pigeon update has also intertwined local and organic
indicators, results and algorithms and it also has got the potential to affect
the rankings of many small business websites. As per what Matt McGee said, the
Pigeon update will benefit big directory sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp, those
that have a stronger SEO signal than the smaller ones. For all those businesses
and websites, local search has got even more difficult than before.

There are even reports that the new algorithm
will provide a more useful, accurate and relevant local search results, which
will be tied more closely to the traditional web search ranking signals. All
these changes will also be visible within the search results of Google Maps and
other Google Web search results. However, despite all these reports about the
changes, the core changes are still behind the scenes. Due to the Pigeon
update, there will be some local websites that will notice an increase or
decrease in the web site referrals, business revenue and also leads, after this
change.

Google has reported that this new search
algorithm will tie deeper into web search capabilities, which includes the
hundreds of ranking signals that are used in web search, like spelling
correction, synonyms, Knowledge Graph and even more. Apart from these, Google
also said that this Pigeon update improves their distance and location ranking
parameters. Let’s have a look at some of the noteworthy changes.

This update has only been released to US English results, but the
percentage of queries that have been affected hasn’t been reported.

Major article directories like Zagat, Yelp, Urbanspoon,
TripAdvisor and some others are seeing increased search engine rankings
and increased influence in search results.

Google also mentioned that this new algorithm enhances the
distance and location ranking yardsticks and it aims to offer more useful
and relevant experience for all the local searchers who are seeking local
results. However, despite this, the individual business firms may find it
tough to rank in search engine results.

Google hasn’t yet thrown any comments on the
exact percentage of queries that were impacted by this algorithm update, nor
did it say anything about the spam algorithms that were deployed in this
update. So, if you’re someone who has noticed any ranking changes for your
local business, you should be sure that it is due to the changes in the search algorithm.